Indiaretailing.com: Chinese and Russian Retailers in the World’s Largest Retailers List – 2/8/08————————————————-

TOPIC SUMMARY:

Reported in an Indiaretailing.com article:Chinese and Russian retailers have, for the first time, ranked on the list of the world’s 250 largest retailers, according to 2008 Global Powers of Retail, a report from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, in conjunction with STORES magazine.Dr Ira Kalish, Deloitte Research, said, “This is an exciting time for global retailing. There is evidence of consolidation and modernization in emerging markets, and the strategies behind the emergence of these new stores reflect a growing maturity among emerging market businesses.”

Discussion questions: How do you think the rise of Chinese and Russian retailers will influence the style of retailing in other world markets and international trade? With retailer consolidation taking place in foreign markets, do you think it will be long before these large concerns shift their eyes towards the U.S. market? Can you elaborate on experiences you’ve had with Russian and/or Chinese retailers?

My post:

The rise of Chinese and Indian retailers, among others around the world, is good news for consumers and brands.I think we’ll see a growth in Russian and Chinese brands globally and the exporting of brands to and from the US will continue to grow.I think it is premature to expect the actual retailers to be present in US retail for several years at least.In the reverse, if a US or European retailer isn’t already established in these countries it will be difficult to gain a foothold as retailers there have learned to effectively compete.Looking to the future, retailers will always have ambitions to expand overseas.Retailers in all countries need to stay sharp and remain relevant, to keep foreign retailers from gaining a foothold.Tesco is making the latest attempt in the US and while I believe their concept will succeed, I don’t see many others likely able to duplicate the effort.